The cruise ship port in Puerto Quetzal is a welcome change from most of our
previous ports, where we usually docked at container terminals. Today, there is
a nice, clean dock, with lots of souvenir vendors, and a café and bar serving
snacks and beverages, including coco loco (coconut cocktail with or without
booze).

We take the Antigua On Your Own shore excursion, which provides transportation to
and from
Antigua, a small Guatemalan town designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our
guide refers to Antigua as St. John, since this is the patron saint of soldiers, and
the Spanish conquistadors established this town after the original site was destroyed
by the nearby volcano. It takes the bus about 1.5 hours to travel from the port
to the city. We pass three volcanoes along the way: Volcan Fuego and Volcan
Acatenango to the West, and Volcan de Agua to the East. Volcan Fuego decides to
put on a little show for us as we pass by, sending puffs of smoke skyward.

I can see that Antigua is normally a nice town to visit, however with all
these cruise ship tourists drifting around, there are scores of Guatemalans
selling trinkets everywhere. They are constantly after us to buy stuff, so it
quickly becomes annoying. We wander the few blocks from our drop off point to
the big town square with a cathedral and shops all around. There is a large tour
group about to enter the cathedral, so we decide to walk a bit further to see La
Merced Church, which is very ornate and very quiet, since it is off the beaten
path. Along the way, we see the famous arch at El Carmen, and take photos of the
Volcan de Agua framed by the Arch.

We stop to have some cappuccino made with genuine Guatemalan coffee, which
has to be one of the best-tasting coffees I have had on the trip so far. I
distract myself from all the persistent street vendors by giving myself a
photographic assignment as we find our way back to the drop-off point: take
photos of all the beautiful and ornate door knockers found on many of the big
wooden doors to be found as entranceways to shops, restaurants, and inner
courtyards.

Thursday, December 15, 2011 - Day 25 – At sea

Our position this morning is 14° 19’ N 93° 13’ W and we are drifting along at
8.6kts, just off the coast of the Mexican/Guatemalan border in very smooth seas.
After breakfast this morning I see a turtle drift by my cabin portholes, so I
put my telephoto zoom lens on my camera, grab my binoculars, and go out on the
Promenade Deck. There are lots of Sea Turtles drifting by, and I get some
terrific shots. One photo in particular is a once-in-a-lifetime shot. I also see dolphins and flying fish.